SDLP leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner has passed away
John Hume was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, jointly with David Trimble, for his efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland. Hume was a founding member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in Northern Ireland. John Hume died aged 83.
Civil Rights Advocate
During Easter of 1998, the largest political parties in Northern Ireland signed the Good Friday Agreement. The man regarded as chief architect of the peace accord was John Hume, Catholic leader of the moderate Social Democratic and Labour Party. Hume, a teacher, joined the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland in the 1960s. As a member of the European Parliament and the British House of Commons, he supported expanded self-rule and a more democratic distribution of power in Northern Ireland. He also worked actively to improve contacts between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and between London and Dublin. In particular, he sought to convince IRA leader Gerry Adams that continued armed conflict was futile. In this way, Hume laid a solid foundation for the historical peace accord.
"Politics is the alternative to war."
John Hume’s political experience from the European Parliament was a key driving force in his campaign for peace. As he stated in his Nobel lecture: “The peoples of Europe created institutions which respected their diversity - a Council of Ministers, the European Commission and the European Parliament - but allowed them to work together in their common and substantial economic interest. They spilt their sweat and not their blood and by doing so broke down the barriers of distrust of centuries and the new Europe has evolved and is still evolving, based on agreement and respect for difference.”
"Hume acted as a bridge-builder between the extremes and moved the talks forward."
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